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Way Back
Back in ‘73 when everything was new
A family on the grow, we needed room to move
The Town and Country it was quite a ride
For a mom, a dad, and two boys inside
22 foot, forest green
With a 440 block and that fake wood paneling
0 to 60 in about an hour,
But does pick-up really matter when you’ve got all that power
I want to ride in the way back
Find my way back to yesterday
Can I ride in the way back
It’s my turn, I’ve been good, and you know Dad said I could
By ‘78 the wagon showed some wear
But with 3 boy’s now, who had time to care
T-ball, soccer, C.C.D.
Got to go get Jamie and be back by 3:00
Carrying Kool-Aid, cups, and cleats
Is it our turn to bring the Rice Crispy treats
8 bags of groceries, 4 sheets of ply
And a Cub Scout den from pack 635
And I want to ride in the way back
Find my way back to yesterday
Can I ride in the way back
Itâ?™s my turn, I’ve been good, and you know Mom said I could
By ‘83 we had seen it all
And with 4 boys now, it was quite a haul
Up to Harper’s Ferry, down to Disney, too
Hard to count the towns our Town and Country knew
Caverns, aquariums, Air and Space
All those Sundays searching for that perfect place
Songs and screaming, games and gas
Ain't it funny how the miles they go by so fast
2X) II: I want to ride in the way back
Find my way back to yesterday
Can I ride in the way back
It’s my turn, I’ve been good, and you know Dad (Mom) said I could :II
Peace of Mind
I have come to stand before you
At the rising of the tide
With the shelter of a lover
You have carried me inside
And picked me up
And held me high
Without a word
Of truth or lie
Of truth or lie
I have also known your anger
Your jealousy and pride
When I took another lover
You left no place safe to hide
You threw me down
You redefined
You took away
My peace of mind
My peace of mind
And if you ask the question
Be sure you want to hear
For the answer put before you
May just be the one you fear
I have sought from you your council
As I walked along the sand
But your answers were as fleeting
Slipping through my open hand
I reached for you
And clutched the air
Not knowing if you
Were even there
If you were there
And if you ask the question
Be sure you want to hear
For the answer put before you
May just be the one you fear
Life’s Not Fair
You’re an hour late for your interview
And the cop clocked you doing 92
So you reach in you pocket and pull out a comb
‘Cause the license that you're looking for is sitting at home
It’s a cruel lesson, it’s a bitter pill
Some people learn it early, some never will
Mister Murphy rote the rule book so you best beware
Rule number 1 : Life’s not fair
I was the golden child, I was the number 1 son
Till number 2 arrived and abducted my fun
Could you take him back, Dad, he’s cramping my style
I’ve had enough of little brother, it was fun for a while
Dad said:
It’s a cruel lesson, it’s a bitter pill
Some people learn it early, some never will
It hurt’s me to tell you, boy, because I care
The party ended early, son. Lifeâ?™s not fair
Is it fair God’s children ain't got no shoes
Is it fair somebody has to sing the blues
Is it fair Jerry Springer is on TV
Is it fair that the prize patrol hasnâ?™t found me
You can dot your i’s, you can cross your heart
You can skip the cracks , you can play your part
But the constant I have found is true
If the whole world’s laughing, the joke’s on you
That’s right, It’s a cruel lesson, it’s a bitter pill
Some people learn it early, some never will
It’s a firm metatarsal to the derriere
But no matter how you say it , Life’s not fair
Pericles / Learn the Language or Lose the Voice
I don’t know you like I should
Your intentions misunderstood
Seeking the meaning in every line
But what I’m reading you won't define
Noble intentions? I have no choice
Learn the language or lose the voice
I don’t know you. I never did
All your secrets you keep hid
Wage a battle for common ground
A mediator cannot be found
What man cant conquer he destroys
Learn the language, or lose the voice
I don’t know what else to do
Is the message getting through
Ties that bind us, born or made
Can be broken, burned, or frayed
Hear the broadcast through the noise
Learn the language, or lose the voice
Freeway
Set out of town, I was bound for discovery
Knowing to well that I’m bound to a life that leads me
Up and down the same still ground as yesterday
When on the side of the road looking lost and hurt
Stood a woman staring down at a bag in the dirt
With a thumb in the air saying take me anywhere away from here
Now I'm not a man who holds some dark agenda
I was taught that one should be a friend
To people in distress, much less in need
So hop on in, where you headed?
She forced a smile and what she said told me that
She'd come far but had many miles to go
She said find me a freeway
It's been so long since I've been free
I'm trying to find my way
And I wouldn’t mind the company
She stared outside trying to hide in the passing splendor
While deep inside trying to find where her heart would send her
Scared as hell, she would tell her story in her own time
When, at last, came the words they took her by surprise
For fear had fled her voice and longing filled her eyes
And with each spoken word you know
I’d swear that I'd heard this all before.
She said: Have you ever lost your way
Like someone else had come and seized your day
Your moment in the sun
You never took the chance to grab that ring
Well now I've left my home, I’ve quit my nine to five
To find there's more to my life than just being alive
And, no, I don't know where or even if out there's a place for me
Till I find me a freeway
It's been so long since I've been free
I’m trying to find my way
And I wouldn't mind the company
I have put one hundred thousand miles on this old Ford
‘ seen the same ground every day five thousand times or more
Instead of watching life go by, each day as those before
I could have been around the world so many times,
Oh lord ! Oh lord !
Set out of town I was bound for discovery
Not knowing where this beating heart would send me
Where will it send me?
Waiting for the Thunder
Oh the air was thick with summer
And twilight would not fall
But the dark remained persistent
arriving late to blanket all
When away on the horizon
Cutting through the looming night
Came a spark out of the darkness
Flashing fast and burning bright
So it seemed a storm was brewing,
Well, the rain would do us well
But the sky said nothing doing
And not one drop ever fell
And I am waiting for the thunder
There is lightning in the sky
Signs that shine on clouds I’m under
tell me that a storm is nigh
tell me that a storm is nigh
There is solace in a shower
Precipitation has its place
And when it falls it has the power
To wash the wondering from my face
But the storm it loves to linger
And apprehension falls instead
As I lie awake in stillness
obscured by words I have never said
But the air is charged and heavy
And spark is all that it takes
to ignite all the frustration
Until the sky it finally breaks
And I am waiting for the thunder
There is lightning in the sky
Signs that shine on clouds Iâ?™m under
tell me that a storm is nigh
And I am waiting for the thunder
There is lightning in the sky
Signs that shine on clouds I’m under
tell me that a storm is nigh
tell me that a storm is nigh
Is this Love
Wide awake, we take to bed
Again we leave the words unsaid
Expectations fading like the sun
Side by side we lie alone
Lost in thought best left unknown
Nobody wants their happy home undone
But is this love, it seems like I once knew
Is this love, and what is it to you
You and I, there was a time
Hours that we spent intertwined
Impassioned love, We did not have to try
But things aren’t how they used to be
Now you turn your back to me
And we both flee to our opposing sides
But is this love, if you have to ask
Is this Love, the answer’s in your grasp
Are you crying, are you there
Are you trying, do you care
Promises were meant to keep
Say a prayer before you sleep
Is this love, did you hear violins
Is this love, could we maybe start again
Is this love, it seems like I once knew
Is this love, and what is it to you
Is this love, did you hear violins
Is this love, could we maybe start again
Is this love, it seems like I once knew
Is this love, and what is it to you
The Waiting Room
So we take the elevator. "Would you please push number three?"
And we all get out together: this young couple, mom, and me
Headed in the same direction; round a corner, through the door
To a room in which we’ve waited now a dozen times or more
Though some faces are familiar, we never seem to say hello
We sign her in up at the counter. "Have a seat. We’ll let you know."
And we establish our position near this lamp ‘ grown to hate
With our patients in remission in this room in which we wait
There’s a man come dressed for business. No, he doesn’t have the time
To sit idle in admitting when denial suits him fine
So he cordons off a corner. "Can I get an outside line?"
He’ll be damned if his condition cut’s into his overtime
And the couple we came in with tell us it’s their first time here
Striking out in conversation, trying to dissipate the fear
She says: "the lump I found in April, the results weren’t all that great
Bringing us for consultation, to this room in which we wait."
All these disconnected faces, with profiles naked, gaunt, and pail
Start to slowly show some color, as one by one recounts a tail
He’s a student here at Towson. She was a nurse in Vietnam
He’s a banker, she’s a teacher, he’s a painter, she’s my mom
They’ve been handed down a verdict with a sentence up to fate
Doing hard time up at Hopkins in a room in which we wait
And a voice calls out "Ramona" so we rise to relocate
To renew our isolation, to a room in which we wait.
Heavy
Yes I am heavy
Got some meat on my bones
Had to tell me, did you?
Felt like I might not have known
Thought it was high past time somebody set me straight?
Could it be true without you I might not have known
That this growing boy had never really stopped all of his growin'
So, of course the state of my great weight is up for debate
Well these forty plus huskies don't leave much to hide
I’ve got a wide load swinging side to side
Did you ever stop to think that inside this big hide
I might be twice as deep as I am wide
Well yes I'm heavy
Believe me when I state
I’ve never had no trouble clearing a plate
But, hey, wait ! You wanted to know
So please bear all that I have to say
When you’re sizing me up take in the whole view
There is much more to me than there seems to be you
And though it might be true, what lets you measure up how I weigh
Just because you didn't think that I would call you on your clever exchange
you didn't think your words might fall inside of my hearing range
You didn't think before you spoke now your to choked to explain
So do you think I'd let you leave before you heard me exclaim
Yes, I ‘m heavy
A man of size and of thought
full of wisdom and wonder
With room left for a lot
I've got love in my heart
Let's not start in on this winning smile
A man of warmth and compassion
A man of size and of class
Someone too big to say
You can kiss my fat ass....
More cushion for pushin', more jelly for rollin'
more of me to love, to have and to hold
The weight that I lost looks like you might have found
Plenty of me to round and around
Pleasingly plump you ain't fat you is fluffy
Big boned, Rubinesk, full of stuffing, not stuffy
He had a round face and a big old fat belly
That shook when he laughed like a bowl full of jelly
The bigger the berry the sweater the cherry
Bigger than old King Kong, but less hairy
He’s not heavy , he's my brother
Circle of Three
Circle of three, him or me,
with you lost somewhere in-between
Stow your heart and head away
Slipping through the night unseen
Through the mist you walk away
As I wonder what alone you'll learn
For at last when you've found your way
Then to whom will you return
Is he there when I am holding you
Is he somewhere on your mind
Am I there when he's alone with you
Or am I somewhere left behind
Circle of three, him or me
Both soon bidding you decide
Do you find a ground on which you stand
Or a shell to slip inside
When it comes to tug of war
With tattered matters of the heart
Who's to say which one will win
And, in the end, who gets torn apart
And if I could see you in the light
Then maybe I would know
Loving you was never holding you
Loving you is letting go
Circle of three, set one free
But hold us both close to your soul
For in the end, though one a friend,
Both may go to make your life, a circle, whole
Watermelon Queen
Such a pretty face they said
As she twirled that baton round her head
She tapped and sang to the refrain
of some Dixie melody
Gold streamers in the air
Last years judges were not fair
But this year she would take the day
And everyone would see
Watermelon Queen
Sweetest flower this side of Eden
And every one will see her be
The Watermelon Queen
What a grand old home town fair
Folks where traveling in from everywhere
To make the scene and hale the Queen
Whoever she might be
As the winner was revealed
Her joy just could not be concealed
Streamers in hand, she took the stand
Pride of family
Watermelon Queen
Sweetest flower this side of Eden
And every one can see why she’s my
The Watermelon Queen
Take a bite and smile real pretty
Take one more, your doing fine
Nobody told her, what a pity
Never knew she was allergic to fruit from a vine
Watermelon Queen
Your eyes are green but your face is greener
And everyone can see
Why she’s my watermelon queen.
At the Feet of an Angel
In a hall of physicians
In the City of Charm
Stands a figure in granite
Holding open his arms
To this stone chiseled savior
Many have come to pray
At the end of a rope
They hold fast and hope
Where the stone’s worn away
At the feet of an angel
I will offer my prayer
For divine intervention
and hope someone is there
Some come with frustration
Some come to find peace
Some in desperation
or to make their pain cease
To some the words come easy
Hallowed be they name
Some find it absurd to utter a word
And aren’t sure why they came
In a room on the east wing
Over intensive care
You can hear a man singing
To the one he loves there
As the family keeps vigil
All for one, hand in hand
God’s answers take time
So they wait for a sign
As together they stand
At the feet of an angel
I will offer my prayer
For divine intervention
and hope someone is there
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